Taj Mahal Palace & Tower
The Taj Mahal Palace & Tower is a prestigious luxury hotel located in the Colaba region of Mumbai, India, next to the Gateway of India. Part of the Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces, this iconic 105-year old heritage building retains its stature as the flagship property of the group and contains 565 rooms. The hotel has hosted a long list of notable guests including Mick Jagger, Jacques Chirac, The Duke & Duchess of Kent, Joan Collins, The King & Queen of Norway, Marianne Faithfull, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales, The Beatles, Bill Clinton and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and also caters to professional cricket teams on tour.
From an historical and architectural point of view, The Taj Mahal Palace and the Tower are two distinct buildings, built at different times and in different architectural designs.
History
The Taj Mahal Palace hotel resort was commissioned by Jamsedji Tata and first opened its doors to guests on December 16, 1903.
It is widely believed that Tata decided to build the luxurious hotel after he was refused entry to one of the city's grand hotels of the time, Watson's Hotel, as it was restricted to 'whites only'. However, this story has been challenged by some commentators that suggest that Jamsedji Tata was unlikely to have been concerned with 'revenge' against his British adversaries. Instead they suggest that the Taj was built at the urging of editor of the Times of India who felt a hotel "worthy of Mumbai" was needed[1].
The original Indian architects were Sitaram Khanderao Vaidya and D. N. Mirza, but the project was completed by an English engineer W. A. Chambers. The cost of construction was £250000 (£127 million today).[2] During World War I, the hotel was converted into a 600-bed hospital. The dome of the hotel is made from the same steel as used in the Eiffel Tower. Jamsedji Tata imported the same steel during that time. The hotel was the first in India to install and operate a steam elevator.
The side of the hotel seen from the harbour is actually its rear. The front faces away to the west. There is a widespread misconception that the architects' building plans were confused by the builder so that he built it facing away from the harbor. This is not true, as the hotel was deliberately built facing inland, possibly because the horse carriages in which guests came to the hotel could more easily approach the hotel from the city. The carriages were then taken to Wellington Mews. Four decades ago, the old front was closed off, and since then, access has been made through the harbor-side entrance.
There used to be a Green's Hotel[3] at the Apollo Bunder, which was purchased by the Taj Mahal Hotel. It was at the Green's Hotel, that a small group of pro-Indian Goans (largely employees of the Indian state and communists) assembled and formed the Goan Liberation Council demanding that Portugal cede Goa to India, in the 1950s. This was done at the instigation of Jawaharlal Nehru, and funded by the Kamani Group of Companies. In 1973, Green's hotel was demolished and the present Tower wing was constructed in its place.
2008 terrorist attack
On November 26, 2008, in a series of attacks in the southern part of Mumbai, the hotel (as well as the Oberoi) was attacked as part of a terrorist attack in Mumbai, during which material damage occurred including the destruction of the roof of the hotel in the hours afterwards.[4] Hostages were taken during the attacks. At least 167 people were killed[5] in the attacks and 293 wounded[5] (the numbers include casualties at CST railway station, The Oberoi Hotel, Nariman House and the Cama Hospital), including many foreigners. The casualties were mostly Indian citizens, although westerners carrying foreign passports were singled out. Indian commandos killed the gunmen barricaded in the hotel to end the three-day battle.
The attacks began November 26, 2008 and continued for a little over 60 hours. Approximately 450 people were staying in the Taj Mahal Palace and Hotel at the time of the seizure, and another 380 in the Oberoi. [6] The Hotel Management has announced that the hotel will be rebuilt. [7].It will take around 12 months and INR 5 billion to repair it. The Taj Mahal Palace & Tower reopened on December 21st.[8]
Literature
- William Warren, Jill Gocher (2007). Asia's legendary hotels: the romance of travel. Singapore: Periplus Editions. ISBN 978-0-7946-0174-4.
- It has also been mentioned in the short story "Sahab Bahadur" by Indian writer Mirza Farhat Ullah Baaaig, and in the novel "Delinquent Chacha" by Ved Mehta.